*The provincial excise taxes vary. Cannabis Benchmarks estimates the population weighted average excise tax for Canada.

**CCSI is inclusive of the estimated Federal & Provincial cannabis excise taxes..

The CCSI was assessed at C$6.41 per gram this week, up 0.7% from last week’s C$6.36 per gram. This week’s price equates to US$2,070 per pound at the current exchange rate.

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This week we review Canadian cannabis usage trends by province and age group. Statistics Canada conducts a survey on cannabis usage each quarter. Statistics Canada has not released any 2020 data yet, but the complete 2019 data shows a trend of growing cannabis use amongst Canadians. The data is drawn from a self-reported survey with no consideration of whether the cannabis consumed originated from the legal or the illicit market.

While overall Canadian cannabis use is trending upward, consumption did not expand at a uniform rate during the survey period, but has varied from quarter-to-quarter, as the chart below illustrates. The growth can be attributed to increased accessibility and the growing normalization of cannabis as a recreational drug. Based on the current survey, Statistics Canada estimates 5.12 million, or 17.1%, of citizens over the age of 15 use cannabis. The survey shows that 490,000 more people reported using cannabis in Q4 2019 than in Q4 2018, when legal recreational cannabis sales commenced.

Although the survey does not capture the source from which cannabis is purchased or the frequency of usage, it still provides important information about trends in consumption. On average the consumer base grew by 3% per quarter. This is expected to increase in 2020 with the release of cannabis 2.0 products, as well as new users resulting from the lockdown spurred by COVID-19. Consequently, our projections show growth occurring at a faster pace this year, ultimately bringing the total cannabis user base to 6 million. This number should continue to rise with Ontario’s planned expansion of retail stores.